32 NFL teams entered the season in September with playoff aspirations. Now only eight remain.
Baltimore at New England
The first game of the weekend is also going to be the best game of the weekend. These two teams straight-up do not like each other, and have a contentious playoff rivalry that goes back a number of years.
They met in the AFC Championship Game two of the past three years, splitting those contests. The Ravens front seven is going to try and get to Brady and put him on the deck often. They won't care if it comes with a penalty flag, they're going to try and bruise their way to an ugly victory. If they can do that, and Flacco plays a turnover free game while connecting on multiple deep balls to Torrey & Steve Smith, they'll win in an upset.
[PREDICTION: Ravens 17, Patriots 16]
Carolina at Seattle
Seattle is too tough, too dominant, too well-coached. The CenturyLink 12th Man will be too loud. This is the one laughter of the weekend.
[PREDICTION: Seahawks 28, Panthers 10]
Indianapolis at Denver
Peyton Manning hosts the team that let him go and the young wunderkind that replaced him. The Colts took care of business against a paper tiger Bengals team, but they'll struggle to contain Denver's balanced offensive attack. As long as Manning doesn't implode in spectacular fashion, he and the rest of the Broncos have enough weapons to move forward.
[PREDICTION: Broncos 35, Colts 27]
Dallas at Green Bay
The story of the Cowboys' win over Detroit was the pass interference penalty flag that was thrown and then picked up. What that controversy obfuscated was the simple fact that Dallas is a really strong football team. The only way to beat Green Bay at Lambeau is to control the time of possession and keep Aaron Rodgers off the field as much as possible. The Boys can do that with DeMarco Murray. News leaked on Thursday that Rodgers is nursing a slightly torn calf, so his effectiveness may be compromised.
[PREDICTION: Cowboys 27, Packers 24 in OT]
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